All In A Night's Work
by Samy Merchi
Summary: The Titans combat mother nature as a tempest rages in Pennsylvania.


  
* DISCLAIMER *  
This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving  
characters created and owned by DC Comics.  
  
* WRITTEN BY *  
Samy samerc@mash.yok.utu.fi Merchi  
  
* ARCHIVED AT *  
http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona.html  
  
* INSPIRED BY *  
  
* STARRING *  
NIGHTWING! FLASH! TEMPEST! TROIA! ARSENAL!  
STARFIRE! CYBORG! DAMAGE! ARGENT! JESSE QUICK!  
* THE TITANS *  
in  
*************************  
* ALL IN A NIGHT'S WORK *  
*************************  
  
* CONTINUITY *  
This story takes place  
after TITANS #5.  
  
***  
  
  
"Hurry up, Annie! Water's risin'!"  
  
"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'!"  
  
"HEY! What are those kids doing there??" fireperson Theresa O'Keefe  
shouted as the vicious winds blew and buffeted around Chester County,  
Pennsylvania, blowing leaves off trees and biting harsh cold rain  
against your face. It was a storm, and a bad one.  
  
"We're tryin' ta save Mr Fluppy!" the boy shouted in anguish.  
"Someone help us!!" He started sobbing as the entire doghouse was  
underwater already, watching in panic as his sister tried to reach in  
and untie the dog's leash before the poor furry creature drowned under  
the several feet of water flooding the town.  
  
"Damn!" Theresa shouted, and jumped over the barricades, starting to  
wade forward in the water towards the yard where the kids and the dog  
house were, her heart racing as she tried to make it in time.  
  
Suddenly, first Annie, and then her brother a few eyeblinks later,  
were pulled under by the dark chaotic waters.  
  
"NO!" Theresa shouted, and tried to move faster in the water that was  
growing deeper by the minute, sloshing violently thru the heavy  
liquid, getting soaked and not caring.  
  
"Theresa!"  
  
"Theresa!"  
  
Her name was called several times, before she snapped to reality and  
noticed two other firemen holding her in place, preventing her from  
going any deeper into the water.  
  
"There's nothing you can do", the other fireman whispered, biting his  
bottom lip grimly.  
  
***  
  
Underwater, brother and sister fought in vain against the overwhelming  
waters, strong enough to break stone and bend metal, certainly strong  
enough to keep two children in its clutches long enough that it didn't  
matter anymore. Didn't mean they didn't fight. Did mean it wouldn't  
make a difference.  
  
***  
  
Above the surface of the water, the storm was lessening somewhat, but  
the rain was still pouring down, whipped about madly by the winds, and  
the currents in the flooded areas kept wreaking havoc and claiming  
everything that wasn't nailed down. Everything was being disrupted...  
  
***  
  
...by a TEMPEST.  
  
"GOT YOU!" Garth of Shayeris shouted as he cut a swath underwater like  
a torpedo, grabbing Annie and her brother by the backs of their  
shirts, and heading for the surface. If the kids were still alive,  
they needed air, FAST. Neither of them was moving, both of them were  
limp and unresponsive to his touch.  
  
The water exploded as Tempest of the Titans shot to the surface, using  
strong water currents to propel himself into the air so he landed  
right onto the bridge underneath which a major storm current frothed.  
"These kids need help!" he shouted, holding one child on each arm as  
he ran towards a triage tent where some first aid shelters had been  
set up.  
  
"We'll take them", a paramedic said as he and several colleagues  
rushed over, accepting the children from a tense, wide-eyed and  
obviously worried Garth. "Thank you", he nodded to the superhero  
before rushing off with the children and the other paramedics, leaving  
Garth standing alone, in the cold wind and rain, red lights from fire  
trucks and ambulances parked nearby illuminating the sight that could  
be from a war-demolished zone. Homeless people, injured people,  
people separated from their families and crying helplessly as they  
didn't know if their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons,  
daughters, lovers, friends were dead or alive, maybe somewhere trapped  
in by water and nobody could help --  
  
"Tempest." Calm voice. Sharp. In control.  
  
Garth glanced over his shoulder at Nightwing, and took a deep breath,  
brushing the back of his hand over an eye briefly before nodding to  
his old friend. "Yeah?"  
  
"I know how you feel, but we can't afford to rest", Nightwing said.  
"No matter how tired we are, no matter how much we hurt from all of  
this, there are people out there who are even more tired, even more  
hurt, even more scared. We have the power to help them. It's our  
responsibility."  
  
Tempest nodded weakly. "I know", he said and took a deep breath.  
"You're right, of course. Thanks for the pep talk." He glanced  
towards the edge of the bridge, and the frothing waters underneath.  
"Want me to just go?"  
  
"Yes", Nightwing nodded. "Do your best. Try to use your powers to  
freeze water in crucial places to form barricades, maybe try to slow  
the currents down or divert them to safer waters. DON'T freeze any  
waters unless you've checked there aren't any people there, I don't  
want any stupid mistakes --"  
  
"I'm not an amateur", Garth gave a slight smile. "Trust me, I can --"  
He hesitated a moment, and lowered his eyes. "It's so *much* --"  
  
"I know", Nightwing said, placing a hand onto Tempest's shoulder.  
"The sooner we get to work, the less it'll be." He took Garth's hand  
into his and squeezed it tightly. "Good luck."  
  
"Thanks", Tempest replied, and then ran over to the edge of the  
bridge, climbing up onto the railing and leaping off into the waters  
underneath, disappearing into the dark swirls and vanishing from sight  
as if he was never going to be seen again.  
  
Nightwing didn't let his eyes linger on the sight. He was too much of  
a professional. "Cyborg!" he shouted into the microphone at his  
mouth, putting a hand over his ear to hear the receiver better.  
"Gimme a sit-rep!"  
  
***  
  
"It's bad, Nightwing", the gold-skinned man replied, standing near a  
newsvan and keeping himself appraised of all the latest events and  
developments. "The storm's dying down, but there's still tons of  
water coming down, and the Crum Creek Valley reservoir thirty miles  
away is overflowing, and the dam's cracking -- if the dam gets worse,  
we could be in for a lot of trouble!"  
  
***  
  
"Gotcha!" Nightwing shouted and quickly ran thru a list of possible  
approaches in his mind, considering several and discarding more than  
that. A few seconds later, he said, "Tempest is busy, I need a line  
on Argent!"  
  
***  
  
"That's it! Don't rush, take time to reinforce it!" Arsenal shouted  
from atop a van that was half underwater. "The bigger and stronger it  
is, the easier a time you'll have pushing it against the water  
masses!"  
  
The silver-skinned Argent nodded in understanding, and her forehead  
furrowed in concentration as the silvery energy she projected from her  
hands fastened to lampposts, nearby buildings, half-drowned vehicles,  
anything that could serve as leverage. The energy field fixed itself  
in place, thickened, serving as a solid dam against the onrush of  
water onto the streets.  
  
"Hang on!" Arsenal called out, and then pressed a hand over his ear to  
hear the transmission better. "WHAT? You WHAT?" he then shouted.  
"Hey, man, I've got a crisis situation on hand here, too! I can't  
spare Argent, she's -- what? Hey, I've got her holding up a dam here  
too! I can't --"  
  
ZZZZIIPPPP  
  
Arsenal blinked as a flash of red and gold streaked thru the area and  
when it was gone an eyeblink later, so was Argent. And so was the  
energy field she had been creating. "Aw, great!" Roy Harper growled  
as held-back water masses rushed to the streets. "Thanks a %$£&ing  
lot, Wally!"  
  
***  
  
"Here she is, Nightwing", the red and gold streak said as it screeched  
to a stop atop the bridge where Nightwing was helping the triage tents  
be set up.  
  
"Great, thanks, Jesse", Nightwing said, turning away from the tents  
and towards his two teammates. "We've got a crisis, thirty miles off.  
Dam cracking. We need to bulk it up, and keep it holding up until  
repair crews can do their work. I know it'll be a lot of work and  
it's been a hard night, but --"  
  
"We get it, Nightwing", Jesse Quick said, and glanced to both sides of  
the bridge, before returning her eyes to the Titans' leader. "Where  
is it?"  
  
"Here", Nightwing said, pulling a map from one of the compartments in  
his gauntlet and handing it over. "X marks the spot", he said, unable  
to restrain a slight smile. "I marked the dam on the map, and I also  
marked the best route for you to travel by land, taking into account  
the present flood reports that were available to --"  
  
ZZZZIIPPPP  
  
"Hnh", Nightwing said, quirking an eyebrow as he stood alone again.  
But again, only for a moment, before he rushed back towards the tents  
again to help out the overtaxed official rescue workers with his body,  
while his mind kept working with his team, coming up with ways upon  
ways of how to best utilize the Titans' talents in a crisis like this.  
"Flash, I've got a sugg--"  
  
Then, he stopped, and swallowed.  
  
He walked over to the paramedics, and looked at little Annie lying on  
a stretcher, pale.  
  
Behind the solid white lenses of his black bird-shaped mask, his eyes  
squeezed shut and a little tear came to the corner of his eye as a  
blanket was pulled over the little girl's face.  
  
*** FIVE HOURS LATER ***  
  
Sun rose.  
  
The storm was over, and the waters were settling down. They were  
still high, but they were mostly calm by now. There was only the  
slightest of breeze, and the air was clear and without rain. The  
first rays of sun's gold glittered off the waters everywhere.  
  
Damage was sitting in a tent, bags under his eyes from staying up all  
night, as he was watching over Argent who was lying in his lap, passed  
out from the exhaustion of having held the dam together until the  
repair crews could pull things together.  
  
Arsenal was flapping his big mouth at Jesse Quick, telling her how she  
had put dozens of people at risk by stealing Argent away, and Jesse  
was defending herself by saying that *thousands* would have been  
endangered if she hadn't done what she had done. Arsenal being who he  
was though, logic didn't penetrate his wounded macho ego very well.  
  
Starfire was standing off to the side, dried tears staining her  
cheeks, and Troia's arms around her, comforting her, even as she  
comforted Donna in return by hugging her back.  
  
Flash and Cyborg were being interviewed by a pair of reporters. Wally  
did most of the talking, and Cyborg let him, only stepping in to make  
corrections when Wally got something blatantly wrong.  
  
Tempest was sitting on the railing of the bridge, watching the sunrise  
with a faintly serene expression on his face. As he heard the  
footsteps behind him, he knew who it was, and why he was there. "She  
didn't make it, did she?" he said softly.  
  
"I'm sorry", Nightwing murmured softly, placing a hand onto Garth's  
shoulder as he sat down beside the Atlantean on the railing, looking  
towards the sunrise.  
  
"It's a new day", Garth said quietly.  
  
Nightwing nodded, and stayed silent for a few moments. "It's over",  
he finally said.  
  
"This one is", Garth pointed out, and then quietly placed a hand over  
his eyes. He stayed motionless like that for long moments, almost a  
minute, before a sob made his shoulders shake. "If I had been a few  
seconds faster -- if I had looked in that area sooner -- if I had --"  
He stopped, and another sob escaped him.  
  
Nightwing let Garth trail off by himself, rather than interrupt him.  
Then, when Tempest was done, Dick spoke. "Or, you could've been a few  
seconds slower -- looked in that area later. They *both* could've  
died."  
  
Garth's expression contorted in pain for a few moments, and a few  
tears ran down his cheeks. "They were trying to save their *dog*!" he  
gasped with a constricted throat. "They were *children*! They hadn't  
done anything *wrong*!" He took a few quick shallow breaths as tears  
began to run more freely. "The fireman I spoke with -- she knows the  
family -- their mother has just recovered from a bout with alcoholism.  
If she goes back into the bottle -- it's *my fault*!"  
  
"No, it's *not*", Nightwing said affectionately, and leaned a bit  
closer, putting his arms around Tempest, who lay his head onto Dick's  
chest and sobbed uncontrollably. "It's okay, Garth", he whispered.  
"You didn't do anything wrong tonight. And neither did they.  
Sometimes there just *is* no right choice. We're damned if we do,  
damned if we don't. They tried to save their dog, and failed. We  
tried to save a lot of people tonight, and we failed at that." He took  
a deep breath, and then slipped off the railing, taking Tempest's hand  
in his and leading him towards one of the first aid tents. "But we  
also saved a lot of people tonight. If we hadn't been here tonight,  
more lives would've been lost. Both of them would've died. We made a  
difference, Tempest. That's why we restarted the Titans. To protect  
the children of the world. And that's just what you did tonight. You  
saved one boy who would've died otherwise." He pointed towards a boy,  
sleeping on a cot underneath a blanket. "That boy."  
  
Garth swallowed, and turned away. "I can't -- I *can't* face him!" he  
said in anguish. "I *can't*!"  
  
"But I can", a new voice spoke, and the two Titans turned towards it  
to see a middle-aged woman. "Because of you", he spoke to Garth, "I  
still have my son." She bit her lip, as moisture glimmered in her  
eyes. "I've lost a lot this night. Because of you, I didn't lose it  
all. I still have a reason to live." Tears started streaming down her  
cheeks as she placed her hands onto Garth's cheeks. "I can never  
thank you enough."  
  
"And I can never apologize enough", Garth sobbed, putting her arms  
around the woman and hugging her tightly as his body shook with the  
tears. "I'm so sorry! I'm so *sorry* --!"  
  
Nightwing turned away, and quietly walked off. Garth would heal. He  
knew this. So would the town. So would most, if not all the people  
who survived until dawn. It was over. The healing process was  
beginning. He took a deep breath, and brushed some moisture off his  
cheeks.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey yourself, Arsenal", Nightwing answered, sniffling back the tears  
and putting up the brave front. "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah, amigo", the marksman replied, flipping a coin into the air for  
want of something better to do with his hands. "Question is, are  
you?"  
  
"You know", Nightwing said quietly, "I told Garth he shouldn't blame  
himself for every mistake he made, but be happy about every thing he  
did *right*."  
  
"Makes sense", Arsenal nodded.  
  
"Then how come --?" Nightwing shook his head silently, and took a  
long, deep breath, turning his eyes towards the sunrise. "Howcome I'm  
doing exactly the opposite of what I'm advising?"  
  
Arsenal shrugged slightly. "Maybe because you ain't got nobody who'd  
tell you the same things you tell people?" he suggested. "Maybe  
because you know all the right things to say, but you don't believe in  
them yourself, 'cause nobody's saying them back to you?"  
  
Nightwing managed a weak smile. "Are you telling me I shouldn't blame  
myself?" he asked.  
  
"Nah", Arsenal said, patting Nightwing onto the back. "You're a smart  
hombre, you'll figure that out anyway in a few days. So since I've  
got an opening to tell you something, I might rather use it to tell  
you to lend me a hundred bucks so I can take out this firefighter  
chick I met..."  



End file.
